PRESS RELEASE : Canadians can now apply for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit

The Government of Canada continues to take action to support Canadians and their families impacted by the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Today, the Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, together with the Honourable Diane Lebouthillier, Minister of National Revenue, the Honourable Carla Qualtrough, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion and the Honourable Joyce Murray, Minister of Digital Government, announced that Canadians can now apply for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) at Canada.ca/coronavirus.

The Government of Canada is working day and night to ensure Canadians have access to the CERB in the simplest and fastest way possible. Canadians who have lost their income due to COVID-19 can expect their payment in 3 to 5 business days from when they apply if they are using direct deposit. That means most Canadians who are eligible will receive $2,000 before the end of next week.

Canadians looking to get more information about the CERB or, who are unable to apply online, can call the toll-free telephone line at 1-833-966-2099.

To help manage the volume of applications through the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and Service Canada, applicants will be asked to apply over four days depending on their month of birth. In addition, Shared Services Canada has also increased the bandwidth capacity of the network infrastructure supporting the CRA, including the My Account secure online portal.

Canadians who have already applied for EI do not need to reapply. To date, over 1.2 million of the EI applications received since March 15, 2020 have been processed through the new CERB.

The Government of Canada remains fully committed to supporting all Canadians during this global pandemic. The Government will continue to carefully consider any additional steps it can take to do just that.